The Price of Trust
by Camikyra
Summary: A bit of a background on Team Rocket; why they were left to the streets to the first days at Pokemon Tech. This later turns into a wild goose chase to find Jessie's dad. R&R! Now!


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\tab By: Camikyra\par   
\par   
\plain \f3 Disclaimer: I don't own Pok\'e9mon. That goes to Satoshi Tajiri. Lucky fool. I don't own Playstation or Crash Bandicoot either.\par   
\par   
\par   
\tab The cold. The snow. The hunger. Wandering for days had brought them here. Nowhere. The nine year-old, blue-haired boy collapsed in the roadside slush. Growly ran to his side and protectively licked his cheek. The boy could hardly move.\par   
\tab "Growly," he could hardly find his voice, "I'm not going to make it. Leave me alone and save yourself..." He turned his head to see angels, glowing in the night sky, reaching towards him... "The angels have come for me. Farewell, I leave this cruel world for a better place. Remember me...Growl-" His head flopped in the snow. Growly gave a short whine, threw his head back and howled into the night.\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab A small raspberry-headed girl clung to her father's hand as they walked out of the church. She wiped her eyes with her free hand and looked at the snow-covered ground. Something sparkled not too far away and caught her eye. A Growlithe's tag. A small boy laying face down in the snow. She broke away from her father's grasp and ran to see who it was. She propped him upright but his eyes remained closed. \par   
\tab "Hey," She said, shaking him gently. The sleeping Growlithe at his side still didn't move.\par   
\tab "Jessica! Come here!"\par   
\tab "Dad! I think he's hurt."\par   
\tab "We don't need more deaths, Jessica, come here!" \par   
\tab "Exactly why we should help him!" She turned back to the blue-haired boy. "Hey there. Can you hear me?" The boy's eyes came open a tiny bit.\par   
\tab "Wha...where...where am I?"\par   
\tab "Saffron City. You're not from around here, are you?"\par   
\tab The boy shook his head. "It's so cold." He shivered and looked down at the Growlithe by his side. "Oh, Growly. Growly, please wake up..." The dog lifted it's head. \par   
\tab "Growl?" The boy hugged Growly.\par   
\tab "Growly..."\par   
\tab "Where do you live?" Jessie asked after a minute. \par   
\tab "In Celadon, but please don't send me home..."\par   
\tab "Don't worry. You can stay with us, right Dad?"\par   
\tab The red-haired man bit his lip and looked at the boy. "Jessie...you know...we don't have enough money..." \par   
\tab The blue-haired boy started to stand. "That's okay, I've been on my own for a while, I'll manage-"\par   
\tab Jessie stood up next to him. "No, come back to our house, we'll get you something to eat."\par   
\tab The boy's eyes brightened at the sound of food.\par   
\tab "That's okay, Dad, right? He won't stay long."\par   
\tab "Only if he doesn't stay long..."\par   
\tab "Alright! Come on!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her. \par   
\tab She stopped at a large alleyway and lead him inside, to a small, ram-shackled cottage. \par   
\tab "We're home!" She yelled and walked inside. She walked to a small porch on the back and pulled two apples from the snow, tossing one to the blue-haired boy behind her. He immediatly bit into it and Jessie laughed at how hasty he was. She sat down on the floor against the wall (they couldn't afford chairs) and the boy sat down next to her. They sat in silence for a few seconds before Jessie spoke up.\par   
\tab "I never asked, what's your name?"\par   
\tab "James," he managed between bites. \par   
\tab Jessie nodded.\par   
\tab "Why did you run away?"\par   
\tab James shook his head. "There was this girl, named Jezebel...looked kinda like you...she wanted me to do everything properly. It was always 'James! Your not eating properly!' or 'Let me show you how to walk properly'. I was tired of it. Sooo... I ran away."\par   
\tab "Do you have any Pok\'e9mon? I don't. My dad said I couldn't have one 'cuz we don't have enough money."\par   
\tab "Just Growly..."\par   
\tab "Oh no! Your Growlithe!"\par   
\tab "S'ok, he probably went back home. He's better off that way. He's not really the travelling type."\par   
\tab "I'm sorry,"\par   
\tab "Don't be.It's not your fault."\par   
\tab A pause of silence.\par   
\tab "I wish I had a Pok\'e9mon. A real one. One that fights." James said, looking off into the snow just outside.\par   
\tab "I always wished I had an Ekans. Dunno why... I just always liked them, I guess."\par   
\tab James nodded. "Yeah, I like Poison Pok\'e9mon too."\par   
\tab Jessie nodded too. After a pause she said, "Hey! Come 'ere." She jumped up and ran out the back door, James close behind. She pulled herself up onto the low roof and motioned for James to follow. Laying down on the slightly snow covered roof, she gazed up as the gray-blue sky. James came up and lay down next to her.\par   
\tab "This is my favorite thing to do..." She whispered, eyes not leaving the winter sky. "Look," she pointed to a gray cloud, "it looks like a Dragonite." James laughed, he certainly never did anything like \plain \i\f3 this \plain \f3 at home. \par   
\tab "Yeah, and that one looks like a Squirtle!" \par   
\tab Jessie giggled and nodded in agreement. "There's a Jigglypuff!"\par   
\tab James chuckled. "How can you tell? It's just a ball!"\par   
\tab "Yeah... maybe it's a Voltorb!" \par   
\tab "Or an Electrode!"\par   
\tab "Or a Pok\'e9ball!"\par   
\tab "Or...umm...what else?"\par   
\tab "A Great Ball?"\par   
\tab "That'll work!" \par   
\tab They spent hours like this, naming what the snow-filled clouds looked like, until the sky grew dark and they were called in for dinner. \par   
\tab "Jess! Come on in!" Jessie slowly sat up and hopped off the roof, James following. \par   
\tab "What's on tonight?"\par   
\tab "Well, I've got some rice, and I would make fried rice, but I'm not really sure how-"\par   
\tab "I can cook fried rice!" James exclaimed, walking the door.\par   
\tab "I don't know son-"\par   
\tab "No really! Jezebel taught me!" He rushed to the small gas stove and tossed the rice in a saucepan. Jessie, vaguely remembering how her mother made fried rice, ran to the snow on the back porch and pulled out two eggs. She casually tossed them to James, who caught them and, one-by-one, cracked them on the side of the pan. Jessie's father just stood by and watched in awe. James stirred the egg and rice together and, like a pro, carefully tossed it about to stir and cook the mixture. After getting this done, he stood by and watched it cook, carefully counting the minutes by in his head. \par   
\tab "Ten," he announced and scooped the fried rice into three bowls. \par   
\tab "Whoa," Jessie's father responded, taking his bowl from the boy. Jessie smiled and took her bowl and the three of them sat down for dinner. \par   
\tab Jessie's father still couldn't shake the amazement off. "Who taught you that, boy?"\par   
\tab "James, dad," Jessie corrected him. \par   
\tab "Jezebel," was all James said.\par   
\tab Jessie's father looked puzzled but nodded.\par   
\tab "She...uhh...it doesn't matter really. I left to forget her, and that's what I plan to do."\par   
\tab Father admired this boy. "You're a good kid, James. Would you like to stay the night?" \par   
\tab "Sure!"\par   
\tab Father nodded. "Where are you headed anyway?"\par   
\tab James chuckled. "As far away from Jezebel as possible."\par   
\tab "She was that bad, huh?"\par   
\tab James swallowed another mouthful of rice and nodded. \par   
\tab "Well, you're welcome here any time you like."\par   
\tab "Thank you, sir."\par   
\tab "No problem, son."\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab Christmas had quickly creeped around the corner and arrived in no time. It wasn't a big time for the Lillis family, due to the lack of money around. But James tried his hardest to do something for this family which had taken him in. He had money saved from the days with the Rochester family- there was plenty of it around then- and come up with gifts. \par   
\tab Father had brought a small pine tree home, one he chopped down himself, but it was left untouched, and empty. \par   
\tab Christmas Eve had rolled around and the tree was still bare. The evening was quiet and everyone was asleep now. James slowly blinked awake and quietly slipped out of his sleeping bag, as not to wake the sleeping Jessie at his feet. He pulled up a loose floorboard at the side of the room and pulled out a round object, only visable by it's black silhouette against the walls, and a larger, square package. He crept silently to the tree and placed the package underneath and found to other packages there, each wrapped in old newspaper, one labeled Jessie, one labeled James. He smiled and placed his gifts beside them. He stealthily made his way back to his sleeping bag and crawled back in. He heard Jessie stir in her sleep and she lifted her head to look at him.\par   
\tab "James?"\par   
\tab "Shh... Jess, go back to sleep."\par   
\tab She shook her head and laid back down. James checked to make sure she was asleep and went back to sleep.\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab He was the first one up in the morning. The warm toast sizzled on the stove and James pulled it off and onto a large plate. He pulled one piece off for himself and waited for the others to get up, quietly munching on his breakfast. Jessie got up shortly thereafter. \par   
\tab "Hey," She said, rubbing her eyes. \par   
\tab "Merry Christmas," He replied, taking another piece of toast. Jessie took her own piece.\par   
\tab "Soooo... what's ya get me?"\par   
\tab "Got you? What makes you think I got you anything?"\par   
\tab "Oh, come on, James, I saw you up last night."\par   
\tab "Nooo, you didn't."\par   
\tab "Yes I did!"\par   
\tab "Nooo...you didn't."\par   
\tab "Yeeees...I did!"\par   
\tab "Noooo-"\par   
\tab "Merry Christmas you two," Father called from the doorframe to his room. \par   
\tab "Merry Christmas, Daddy!" Jessie yelled, giving him a big hug.\par   
\tab Father walked over to James and gave him a high five, gripping his hand. "Merry Christmas, son."\par   
\tab "Merry Christmas,"\par   
\tab "So, how about those presents guys?"\par   
\tab Jessie gave a yelp of delight and bounded over to the tree. Father pulled a chair next to the tree and Jessie and James sat down in front of him. \par   
\tab "Alright...this one's for... Jess." He handed her a square gift. Jessie tore the wrapping off and ripped the box open to find a small wooden ninja figure. \par   
\tab "Thanks Dad!" She hugged him again.\par   
\tab "Okay, now one for James." He handed him a slightly larger square package. James pulled the top off and found a new glove and a worn baseball. \par   
\tab "Wow," He mouthed and looked up at Father, who smiled back at him. \par   
\tab "Thought you'd like it." Father replied. James hopped up.\par   
\tab "Okay, now it's my turn." He pulled Father's gift out. Father took it and opened the box, and found another box. He opened it and saw another box. In turn, he opened this one and looked up and the grin on James' face. He looked back down to his gift to see a $50 bill. \par   
\tab "How'd you get this?" He asked quietly. \par   
\tab James shrugged. "My parents sent me $100 as a Christmas present. I kept $50 and sent the rest back." Father looked shocked. \par   
\tab "Noooow... for Jess." He pulled out the round gift and tossed it to her. Something clicked when it hit her hand and it burst open, wrapping paper flying everywhere. A white light flashed and an Ekans materialized. She screamed with happiness and hugged it and James. \par   
\tab "Thank you!" She yelled stroking the Pok\'e9mon. \par   
\tab "Ekans!" It hissed, rubbing against Jessie's arm. \par   
\tab "Alright," James said to Father. "So maybe I didn't return \plain \i\f3 all\plain \f3 the money."\par   
\tab Jessie grabbed James' hand and pulled him outside. "Let's see what it does!" She stopped in the backyard and pointed to the frosted ground. "Ekans! Dig!" The snake hissed and dove at the ground. It disappeared and quickly resurfaced. \par   
\tab "Ekanssssss!" Jessie jumped up and down and clapped her hands. \par   
\tab "Geez, Jess, it's just a snake." James said, his hands on his hips. Jessie whacked him over the head. \par   
\tab "But it's \plain \i\f3 my\plain \f3 snake!"\par   
\tab "And that's what counts."\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab That night was silent, everyone dreaming about their new gifts. Ekans was curled up at Jessie's feet in a tight ball and James clung to his glove in his sleep. He dreamt of being pitcher for the Saffron City Dragons, winding up, drawing back, and releasing the ball at full speed. \par   
\tab \plain \i\f3 Whack!\plain \f3 It hit the catcher's glove every time with perfect accuracy. \par   
\tab Wind up, draw back, release, whack! Wind up, draw back, release-\par   
\tab James' eyes flew open at the sound of the cabin door being thrown open. He could hear Father's voice arguing with someone. \par   
\tab "We've warned you..."\par   
\tab "I couldn't! Not after Mya died. Just... give me a little while longer. I'll find a home for him-"\par   
\tab "We've given you long enough! Now come along!"\par   
\tab "But... the kids!"\par   
\tab The sound of knuckles hitting flesh was even painful to hear. That was enough to wake Jessie up. She bolted upright and looked around.\par   
\tab "James? What-"\par   
\tab "YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Was the yell from the next room.\par   
\tab Jessie sprung to her feet and ran to the sitting room. "Dad!"\par   
\tab James jumped up and followed her out of the small bedroom. \par   
\tab Father was being held with his arms behind his back by a man dressed completely in black. The red "R" on his chest stood out in the darkness. Another man grabbed Jessie as she ran to her father. \par   
\tab "Leave the boy," One man barked. "He's of no harm. Just take the father." The Rocket holding Father began to drag him out the door. Father twisted himself around to talk to Jessie.\par   
\tab "Jessie! Don't worry about me! Just stick with James. Stay together. Take care of each other. Don't cry, Jess, I'll be back, don't worry..." \par   
\tab Father was gone into the night. The man released Jessie and hurried after the others. Jessie tried to catch up, but, as fast as she was, couldn't keep up. She fell to the ground in the streets of Saffron. James caught up to her and silently pulled her to her feet. Tears streamed down Jessie's face as she turned to James. \par   
\tab "What happened?" She barely whispered. James could only shake his head, he hated to see her like this. \par   
\tab "Be strong, Jessie," He whispered. Ekans slithered up to Jessie and rubbed her against her leg. She stroked it's head slowly. James could feel the warm tears on his own face. \par   
\tab \plain \i\f3 Twice, \plain \f3 he thought, \plain \i\f3 twice I'm on my own...\par   
\plain \f3 \tab "What do we do now?" Jessie asked. James shrugged slowly. \par   
\tab "I don't know."\par   
\tab Jessie smiled through her sadness. "You're the outcast here."\par   
\tab "Someone'll take us in." Jessie playfully whacked him over the head again. \par   
\tab "Not the answer I was hoping for. Come on. Let's go get our stuff,"\par   
\pard \qc *** \par   
\pard \tab Two kids on the road in Saffron City. Two kids and a Pok\'e9mon. An easy target for anyone to pick them off. Other kids looked sadly at them as they walked by. They knew Jessie and James. And they knew that what was destined to happen, had. But not everyone knew them. Three older boys, probably around fourteen, sat on benches in the park. One whispered something to the other. That boy nodded towards them.\par   
\tab "Hey! You guys!" James stopped Jessie and turned around to look at them. \par   
\tab "That's a pretty Ekans you got there. Do you go to Pok\'e9mon Tech?"\par   
\tab They both shook their heads. \par   
\tab All three boys looking very surprised. "No? Do you want to?" \par   
\tab James looked to Jessie who nodded at them. \par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab They now stood in the lobby of a very big building known as Pok\'e9mon Technical Institute, or Pok\'e9mon Tech, as the kids called it. A big woman sat at the high desk before them. \par   
\tab She typed quickly at the computer in front of her and peered at the kids over her spectacles. \par   
\tab "So, what are your names?" She asked, chomping loudly on the gum in her mouth.\par   
\tab "Jessie Lillis,"\par   
\tab "And James Rochester."\par   
\tab The secretary nodded and typed more. "Will you be staying here?" \par   
\tab Jessie looked to James who shrugged and nodded. He whispered to Jessie, "No, we'll be staying in a box on the side of the road." Jessie giggled. \par   
\tab "Okay, there's a lodging fee of $49-"\par   
\tab One of the boys who had brought them here piped up, "No, that's okay, Ms. Cephalo, they're with us." \par   
\tab The woman nodded again and typed something else. "Alright, you'll start classes tomorrow, Tim can give you a tour, if he wants to, you wouldn't mind would you Tim?" The boy shook his head.\par   
\tab "Sure, come on guys." Everywhere were kids reading books, receiving instructions, or battling against other kids on computers. There were a few classrooms lining the halls, but most rooms were large and open, or filled with computers. Tim took them down a second corridor to a hall with dorms, lots of dorms, some with kids sleeping or sitting up in bed. Tim lead them to a large empty dorm with "T-97" printed next to it. There were three beds, two in fairly good shape and one looking ready to snap in half. \par   
\tab "You guys can have this room," He said. "I'll let Ms. Cephalo know your here. Watch that third bed, though, it's kinda rickety." Jessie and James walked in behind him, James dragging a suitcase. He walked to the third bed and heaved the heavy suitcase onto it. The old wooden bed immediately cracking and bent in the middle. Jessie slapped a hand to her forehead.\par   
\tab "James!"\par   
\tab Tim laughed. "No problem. It was bound to do that sometime." With that he walked out of the room. \tab \par   
\tab "Sorry Jess!"\par   
\tab "Doesn't matter James. Come on, let's have a look around." James turned and followed Jessie out of the room. \par   
\tab "Where do you think the cafeteria is?" He asked as he caught up to her. She shrugged.\par   
\tab "I wanna see what kind of Pok\'e9mon people have around here." She said, clearly not listening to him. She peered around the corner. James frowned, realizing he still didn't have a Pok\'e9mon of his own. One boy, looking about six or seven years old, sat in one corner, his back to the kids on computers, talking to someone, or something. Jessie looked puzzled and walked over to see what was wrong. The brown-haired boy heard her coming and quickly tried to conceal whatever he was talking to. He turned to face her, a frightened look on his tear stained face.\par   
\tab "What's the matter?" \par   
\tab He looked down to the Pok\'e9mon in his arms. Jessie looked to see that it was a Ditto, and a small one. It looked sick. Instead of being perky and lively, this Ditto just lay there, like the blob it was.\par   
\tab "It- it's hurt." The boy whimpered. "The bigger boys. They- they hurt it. The school doesn't know... that- that it..."\par   
\tab "That it what?" Jessie asked softly.\par   
\tab "They don't know that I have Metamon. We aren't supposed to have real Pok\'e9mon. Ri- Right?"\par   
\tab Jessie was stunned. No Pok\'e9mon? What did that mean for her Ekans? \par   
\tab "I- I don't think they'll he- heal it for me." \par   
\tab Jessie was now very sad for this boy. The school wouldn't let this boy have the Pok\'e9mon so they were just going to let it get hurt. Jessie turned around.\par   
\tab "James?"\par   
\tab "Well, I did get a couple free potions with Ekans, but they're pretty weak potions. Want me to get 'em?"\par   
\tab "It couldn't hurt." \par   
\tab James turned and dashed for his room, returning only seconds later holding two small potion bottles. He handed one to Jessie and one to the boy. They squeezed the bottles onto the Pok\'e9mon and it perked up slightly, shook it's head, and gave a small "Ditto!" \par   
\tab "Ditto!" The boy whispered and hugged it. He looked up at Jessie and James. "How can I repay you?"\par   
\tab James shook his head. "It's no problem kid, just glad to help."\par   
\tab "What's you name, anyway?" Jessie asked.\par   
\tab "Oh! I'm Mondo."\par   
\tab Jessie nodded. "I'm Jessie, and this is James." James waved a hello. \par   
\tab "Thank you so much!" Mondo said, recalling Metamon and taking a bow. \par   
\tab "Just stay out of trouble, okay kid?" James said, patting his back. \par   
\tab "Sure thing!" With that, he turned around and ran back to his class. \par   
\tab James turned to Jessie. "Well, we've got one admirer. How many you think we can get before the year's over?" Jessie laughed and whacked him. She proceded down the hall with James tailing behind.\tab \par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab "Mmm, week old pizza!"\par   
\tab "Y'know, James, there are better things here."\par   
\tab "Yes, but it looked so good at the time..." \par   
\tab Jessie sighed and swallowed the last of her soup. \par   
\tab "What time is it Jess?"\par   
\tab Jessie looked down at her wrist, the watch that was her father's, which she took from his things to remember him by. "Seven ten." James nodded and continued gnawing on his pizza. \par   
\tab "Any idea when lights-out is?" \par   
\tab "Ummm... nine?"\par   
\tab James shrugged.\par   
\tab "Geez you're really excited about tommorow, aren't you?"\par   
\tab He nodded vigously. \par   
\tab Jessie's voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm concerned about Ekans. No Pok\'e9mon? What's up with that?"\par   
\tab James swallowed hard and replied. "I dunno. Can't you just leave it in it's ball?"\par   
\tab "No! It has to eat!"\par   
\tab "Do we have a closet?"\par   
\tab "Dunno. Didn't check. Why?"\par   
\tab "We could fix it up. Make it Ekans' room."\par   
\tab Jessie nodded thoughtfully. "That's not a bad idea..."\par   
\tab "'Course it isn't. It was my idea after all-" Jessie hit him over the head. "We could check it out later, see if it'll work." \par   
\tab Jessie nodded again.\par   
\tab "In any case, I wanna get ready for tommorow-"\par   
\tab "What can you do to get ready?" \par   
\tab "Umm..."\par   
\tab "Exactly." She turned around tossed her empty cup into the trash can behind her. "Come on, you, let's go look around some more."\par   
\tab "But, Jessie, we've been looking around for four hours!"\par   
\tab "Then how can one more hour hurt?"\par   
\tab He sighed and tossed his half-eaten rubber pizza in the garbage can, following Jessie out of the cafeteria.\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab "Ow!" \par   
\tab "Shh! James!"\par   
\tab "Sorry! I stubbed my toe!"\par   
\tab Jessie folded another blanket and put it in the corner of the closet. James was trying to pull the mattress off the broken bed to line the floor of the closet with, but without much luck.\par   
\tab "Jessie! Can't you help me here?"\par   
\tab "No! I'm busy."\par   
\tab James groaned and finally pulled the mattress to the floor with a thump. \par   
\tab Jessie whipped around and hissed quietly "James!" He ignored this and began to drag the mattress to the closet. Ekans came over to James and helped to lift it. They finally managed and slapped the mattress in it's place. Jessie screwed a new light bulb in and stood back to admire what they'd done. James patted his work and stood back with Jessie. \par   
\tab "Looks good!" Jessie said approvingly. \par   
\tab James nodded. "Fit for a...snake!" Ekans reared up and hissed, proceeding to enter his new home. He curled up and shut his eyes. \par   
\tab "Looks like job well done, my friend!" James said, giving Jessie a high five. \par   
\tab "Yeah-" Jessie gasped as footsteps were heard down the hall. "Lights-out!" She whispered loudly and climbed into bed. James turned the light on in Ekans' closet and shut the doors, climbing into his own bed. Jessie sat up and threw a shoe at the light switch and, amazingly, turned the lights off. She flopped down just as the man came in the room. He poked his head in and looked around. And after seeing nothing unusual, turned around and left.\par   
\tab Both kids let out a sigh. \par   
\tab "G'night James,"\par   
\tab "G'night Jess,"\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab The next morning, both now dressed in Pok\'e9mon Tech uniforms, Jessie and James were split up and brought to their first lessons: James, Virtua Training; Jessie, Statistics.\par   
\tab James sat at his computer and looked up at the pacing man in front of him.\par   
\tab "Now," his teacher began. "For the two of you new people, you have six Pok\'e9mon on this computer. You will travel from Pallet Town to Viridian City, battle as many people and Pok\'e9mon as you can along the way. Today, the person who has gained the most experience points by the time they reach Viridian, or by the end of fifteen minutes, whichever comes first, gets an extra five points added to their statistics test on friday. Okay? Everyone ready? Begin."\par   
\tab Everyone swiveled around to face their computer and started their mini-journey. James looked down at his keyboard. There were only about twenty keys on this keyboard. Along the top row was written PKMN 1, PKMN 2, PKMN 3, PKMN 4, PKMN 5, and PKMN 6. Below that were keys labeled "Attack", "Items", "Change Pokemon", and "Retreat". Branching from the "Attack" key were the numbers one through four. Off to the side were four arrow keys. \par   
\tab James figured moving forward would be the best place to start and pushed the up key, making his short figure on the screen move forward. He traveled upward into the grass-like part north of Pallet Town. After only a few steps, the screen flashed and a Pidgey slid across to the right side of the screen. \par   
\tab "A wild PIDGEY appeared!" Came up at the bottom of the screen. James grinned. If all they did was play computer games, then he liked this school!\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab Over at Statistics, however, things weren't going so well. Jessie now had a book title "Living with Pok\'e9mon" open in front of her, as did the other kids, tracing the Arcanine on the front cover with her finger in boredom. The tall, lanky teacher at the front of the room drawled on about Pidgey. Jessie held her head up with her palm.\par   
\tab "So, if you see a Pidgey, weaken it just like any Pok\'e9mon, being careful not to faint it. Pidgey will evolve at level 18, so it will take a while to make it evolve once you catch it. Okay, now, read pages 53 through 57 and answer the questions on page 57 when your done. Go ahead."\par   
\tab Jessie slowly lifted the book open and flipped to page 53.\par   
\tab Pidgey is the most common Pok\'e9mon, it and Rattata...\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab James silently cheered as he defeated a sixth Pok\'e9mon, gaining 21 experience points, a new high for himself. He came out of Viridian Forest and circled in the small patch of grass just out side and confronted a male Nidoran. James jumped on the chance to catch a new Pok\'e9mon, but thought better of it and fainted the Pok\'e9mon instead. His leading Pok\'e9mon, Meowth, grew to an amazing level 13. \par   
\tab A buzzer went off at the front of the room marking the end of fifteen minutes. The teacher looked up to a large monitor showing the gained experience points by each student. Skylar Walker jumped up of his seat at seeing that he had completely blown the other kids away with a whomping 212 points gained. Skylar noticed that everyone was staring at him and promptly sat down.\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab Jessie let out a big sigh and flopped down on the bed. James agreed and flopped down on his. \par   
\tab "Well, THAT certainly wasn't expected." Jessie said.\par   
\tab "What?"\par   
\tab "The boredom."\par   
\tab "Boredom? I had a lot of fun!"\par   
\tab "Yeah, of course you did, you got to play with \plain \i\f3 computers \plain \f3 all day."\par   
\tab "Mmm-hmm. What'd you do?"\par   
\tab "Let's see...listened to the teacher, read, answered some questions, listened to the teacher, read, answered-"\par   
\tab "Okay, okay, I get the picture. How's Ekans doing?"\par   
\tab "Oh, yeah!" She sprang to her feet to her feet, shut the door to the room, and let Ekans out of the closet. It blinked sleepily and slithered out of the closet. Jessie poured more Pok\'e9Chow into Ekans' dish. Ekans made it's way to Jessie's bed. It slithered up and stood as high as it could, stretching from sleeping in a closet for seven hours. Jessie sat down down next to it and stroked it's scaly purple skin. It closed it's eyes contentedly. Jessie sat back and brushed her hair back with her hand.\par   
\tab "Long day,"\par   
\tab James nodded in understanding. There was a knock at the door. Ekans perked up and dove underneath the bed. A boy came in the room and turned to Jessie.\par   
\tab "Are you Jessie Lillis?"\par   
\tab "Yeah..."\par   
\tab "There's a message for you in the office."\par   
\tab "Okay,"\par   
\tab The boy nodded and left. \par   
\tab Jessie hopped off the bed and opened the closet for Ekans to return. It obediently entered and curled up in it's corner. She walked out thinking of what was waiting for her in the office, James close behind. \par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab She sat down at the bench in the office and ripped open the envelope, James watching over her shoulder. Flipping the letter open, she preceded to read this message.\par   
\tab \plain \i\f3 Jessica,\par   
\tab Your father is being held by our team, until he can work off the debts he owes. \par   
He will not be harmed in any way, as he is a precious member of our team. You must not seek him, we are keeping him heavily guarded.\tab \tab \tab \tab \tab \tab \par   
\tab \tab \tab \tab \tab \tab \tab Merry Christmas,\par   
\tab \tab \tab \tab \tab \tab \tab \tab Giovanni\par   
\plain \f3 \tab "Merry Christmas?! What the heck is that supposed to mean? They took my dad from me!"\par   
\tab James could only shake his head. What were they telling them this for? So, Jessie stuffed the letter in her pocket and angrily marched back to the room, feeling great hatred for whoever this "Giovanni" person was.\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab James shot above the surface of the ocean water and splashed his partner before diving back under. Jessie grinned and dove under shortly after James did, and when James resurfaced, he was surprised not to find her there. Jessie then took her oppertunity to pop out and dunk him.\par   
\tab Meowth shook his head to see his eighteen year old teammates playing in the water like children. He looked back down to the Team Rocket files in his paws. Flipping a couple pages ahead to Jessie's files, he found a second paper he hadn't seen before stapled to the back.\par   
\tab "Hmmm..." He looked up, "Jessie! James! Come 'ere!" \par   
\tab Jessie looked to the cat, gave James a final dunk underwater, and ran up to see what he wanted. James shot up and gasped for air. Jessie grabbed her towel and rubbed her head with it while looking down at what Meowth was holding. James came up and shook his head like a dog, showering Jessie with water. She whacked him with her towel.\par   
\tab "Look Jess," Mowth said, pointing, "Somebody else named 'Lillis'" \par   
\tab Jessie continued to chase James with the wet towel and called back, "Read it,"\par   
\tab Meowth cleared his throat and began, "Lillis, Rick. Taken from family because of severe debts. Working in copper mines to pay them off. Wife, Myamoto, died in a mission to find and capture Mew. Escaped from mines in 1997; hasn't been found yet." He looked up and saw that Jessie had sunk to her knees in the sand. James stood behind her, holding the towel, gaping at Meowth.\par   
\tab "You know 'em?"\par   
\tab Jessie was mumbling to herself. "Pok\'e9mon Tech til '94, bike gang til '96, Team Rocket from '96." She looked up at James. "We were in Team Rocket. How could we have not know?" James was still staring numbly forward, but shook his head. \par   
\tab "Who was he?" Meowth asked. No one answered. "HELLO?!" James looked at Meowth.\par   
\tab "Jessie's dad," \par   
\tab Meowth mouthed an "oh". "Well, we've got a week of vaca. Wanna see if we could find 'em?" \par   
\tab Jessie made a noise of disgust. "Meowth, that was three years ago, most likely he's gotten as far away from here as he possibly can."\par   
\tab "Oh, oh well, you can go back to playing in da wata again then."\par   
\tab Jessie stood up and walked back in the direction of the cabin. "Come with me James."\par   
\tab Meowth frowned, shook his head, and looked back down at his files.\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab Jessie pulled Meowth's laptop out of his backpack and signed online. \par   
\tab "People Search...hmmm... Rick Lillis..." James came in, rubbing his head with his own towel and pulling his black tee shirt on.\par   
\tab "No... that's not him...no...there!" She stopped on a picture of a red-haired man, standing in the shadows, dressed in a dirty black Team Rocket uniform. James leaned over her shoulder. \par   
\tab "Mmm, hmm. Last time seen... April 25, 1999, that's not too long ago. Last place seen... Mandarin Island, Orange Islands? Whoa! He really high-tailed it out of here!"\par   
\tab "But that's not too far, it's not like he went to the Mainland or anything." \par   
\tab "Sooo... what're you implying?"\par   
\tab "We \plain \i\f3 do\plain \f3 have a week of vacation..."\par   
\tab "Oh, Jess! We were gonna relax!"\par   
\tab "Yeah...but I miss my daddy..."\par   
\tab James sighed. "Alright," \par   
\tab "Then we can relax. I promise."\par   
\tab "Well, only because you promise..."\par   
\tab "Thanks James, plus we're doing this for you too."\par   
\tab "Yeah, I \plain \i\f3 do\plain \f3 wanna see him,"\par   
\tab "You could play baseball with him!"\par   
\tab "Yeah!"\par   
\tab "Cause they wouldn't let you on the Rocket Team!"\par   
\tab "Jessie!"\par   
\tab Jessie snickered, "Sorry, but seriously let's try to find him."\par   
\tab "Yeah,"\par   
\tab Jessie nodded and typed some more at the computer. "Here's a different site, it says 'Last seen: February 2000, Place: Mandarin Island'. So, it looks like the Orange Islands would be a good place to start."\par   
\tab James agreed. "Sooo...when are we leaving?"\par   
\tab "How 'bout this, we go get lunch, explain this to Meowth, and figure out how to get to the Islands?" \par   
\tab "Oooo! Lunch! Let's go!"\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab Jessie picked up another fry. "So, the twerps are on Sunkist Isle, right?"\par   
\tab "Right," James agreed, mouth full of hamburger.\par   
\tab "Yeah, but what will that matter?" The Pok\'e9mon lapped happily at a spoonful of frappe.\par   
\tab "I dunno, yet. But there must be some way that's relevant."\par   
\tab "Yeah, maybe we can ask dem for free plane tickets."\par   
\tab "Not what I was thinking. Birds can fly us too..."\par   
\tab "A bird? Nuh-uh, Jess, where a we gonna get a bird?"\par   
\tab "Remember the pest's Pidgeot?"\par   
\tab "Yeah,"\par   
\tab "Umm...oh yeah!"\par   
\tab "Right, where did he leave it?"\par   
\tab "Umm....in Viridian?"\par   
\tab "Right again. And who's guarding it?"\par   
\tab "A bunch of angry Fearow?"\par   
\tab Jessie whacked Meowth with her fist. "No! \plain \i\f3 Nobody\plain \f3 is guarding it. Well, nobody human at least."\par   
\tab James nodded thoughtfully. "So, we steal-"\par   
\tab "-Not steal, catch."\par   
\tab "\plain \i\f3 Catch\plain \f3 Pidgeot, fly to Mandarin, find your dad and live happily ever after?"\par   
\tab "Exactly!"\par   
\tab "Okay, we're in Pallet now, so a drive to Viridian shouldn't be too bad."\par   
\tab Jessie's accomplices nodded. She popped the fry in her mouth and stood up. "So let's go!"\par   
\tab "Jefie! I fill have half a fandwich weft!" \par   
\tab Jessie put a hand a front of his face like she was going to shove the hamburger in his mouth, thought better of it and gave the last half to Meowth, who practically inhaled it. James eyes glistened with tears.\par   
\tab "Jessie!"\par   
\tab "James! You have half a box of donuts in the Jeep!"\par   
\tab "Ah! That's right!" He lept off his seat and dashed for the Jeep, Jessie and Meowth slowly following.\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab Jessie slept in the backseat soundlessly. James slept against her shoulder, but Meowth wasn't sure if it was the donuts or the music which put him to sleep. So it was Meowth who drove now, getting many odd looks from people in the streets. He turned his music a little louder, his country music which he liked so much.\par   
\tab James stirred and sat up slightly. "Meowth...turn it down..."\par   
\tab Meowth thought, \plain \i\f3 Ah, he'll be asleep in a second anyway...\plain \f3 "Oh, okay, James," James nodded and fell back to sleep. Meowth snickered and turned it back up.\par   
\tab \plain \i\f3 "Okay, now for some news, there was a three car pile-up on Route 12, traffic's pretty backed up, so make sure you avoid that. On Mandarin Island today, a man was assaulted by Team Rocket.\plain \f3 "\par   
\tab "Guys!" Meowth yelled into the backseat. Jessie bolted upright, letting James fall to the seat.\plain \i\f3 \tab "He was fairly injured, and he was taken to the hospital to be checked out. The police aren't releasing much info, but they do tell us that the man was with Team Rocket formerly."\par   
\tab \plain \f3 "You hear dat?"\par   
\tab Jessie nodded. "It's our lucky day! Isn't it James? James?" Snoring was the only response. Jessie shook her head and leaned against the car door, a big grin on her face. She looked at the driving Pok\'e9mon.\par   
\tab "You want me to drive?"\par   
\tab "Nah, dat's okay. I'm havin' fun takin' out trash cans an' old ladies."\par   
\tab Jessie turned her head to look outside. "Where are we?" \par   
\tab "Just out of Viridian Forest, we'll be in Viridian any time now."\par   
\tab A pause. \par   
\tab "Do you think that was him?"\par   
\tab "Most likely. How many people in Mandarin Island were once in Team Rocket?"\par   
\tab She nodded. \par   
\tab "You're really excited, ain't ya?"\par   
\tab She nodded again, still looking out the window. \par   
\tab A second pause.\par   
\tab "What happened? I mean, why did he leave you?"\par   
\tab Jessie shook her head. "Whatever happened it shouldn't have, especially not on that day."\par   
\tab "What, you're birthday or somethin'?"\par   
\tab "Christmas. And a really good Christmas, too. I got Ekans from James and a ninja doll from Dad. James got a glove and gave Dad fifty bucks. It was great! But... that night...somebody came...and they took him away...said he owed money. He told us not to worry, that he'd be back, and to stick together... but he never did..."\par   
\tab "Christmas Day...wow. James was dere?"\par   
\tab "Yeah, we found him and let him stay with us. He became more of a brother than a guest, so Dad let him stay."\par   
\tab A third pause.\par   
\tab "Look, here's a bunch of Pidgey, this must be it." He eased up on the gas and brought the Jeep to a halt. "Wake up Blue-boy."\par   
\tab "Blue-boy?" James muttered without sitting up. Meowth chuckled and hopped over the side of the car. Jessie and James followed quietly. Meowth crouched behind a tree and Jessie and James came to his side.\par   
\tab "See any Pidgeots?" Jessie asked. Both boys shook their heads. James scanned the dense forest carefully, looking for the yellow head- and tail-feathers that would set a Pidgeot apart. \par   
\tab Suddenly, "There!" He pointed straight upwards. A large bird sat on a lofty tree branch, glaring down at them.\par   
\tab "So how do we catch it?" Jessie whispered.\par   
\tab James said nothing but pulled an Ultra Ball out of his pocket. Jessie fell backwards in surprise.\par   
\tab "Good God, James! Where did you get that?!"\par   
\tab "Umm...I...uhhh...okay! Okay. It was at TRHQ and I kinda picked it up,"\par   
\tab Meowth grimaced. "James, sometimes it's good to steal things from the boss."\par   
\tab James grinned. \par   
\tab "How good's your throw James?" Jessie asked, still looking up at the bird.\par   
\tab "Umm...pretty good, I guess..."\par   
\tab "Been working on your baseball?"\par   
\tab "Yup!"\par   
\tab "Good, on the count of three, pitch that thing as hard as you can at Pidgeot. Kay?"\par   
\tab "Kay,"\par   
\tab "One,"\par   
\tab "Two,"\par   
\tab "THREE!"\par   
\tab \plain \i\f3 Whoosh!\plain \f3 the ball soared upwards at what seemed like a hundred miles an hour, smacking Pidgeot square on the head. Pidgeot flapped it wings frantically, but was engulfed in a white flash and sucked into the orange and white ball. The ball returned to it's original color and fell into James' palm. Jessie gave him a high five and they stalked back to the Jeep. Meowth still sat against the tree.\par   
\tab "WHAT?!? Dat's it?! No flaws or anytin'? Just like dat!"\par   
\tab "Yep," Jessie replied as she hopped into the Jeep. "Now get in here and drive, cat." \par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab Jessie sat on top of her seat, holding onto the frame over the top. \par   
\tab "There's the ocean, there!" She said, pointing ahead of her. James breathed in deeply.\par   
\tab "Mmm... I can smell it!" \par   
\tab Meowth pulled up to the pier and parked the Jeep among the hundreds of other cars at the beach. The trio hopped out and walked onto the dock. James pulled the Ultra Ball out of his pocket and sent the Pidgeot out. It immediatly tried to fly upwards as it was released, but James dove on it, causing Pok\'e9mon and Rocket to fall into the ocean water. James floundered to the surface and Pidgeot not far behind. James clung to the dock and pulled Pidgeot out of the water. He pulled himself up and hopped onto the bird. Jessie hesitantly followed with Meowth shortly after.\par   
\tab "Now what?"\par   
\tab "Umm...Pidgeot! Fly attack!" \par   
\tab Pidgeot shot into the air, James clinging to Pidgeot's neck and Jessie to James' waist. Pidgeot stopped about a hundred feet in the air and leveled it's flight. James loosened his grip on Pidgeot, but Jessie still held fast.\par   
\tab "James," she whispered, "Remind me why we didn't take a plane?" James laughed and patted her head. \par   
\tab "Cause... we don't have any money?"\par   
\tab "Not very reassuring,"\par   
\tab James sat up and let the cool sea breeze blow his hair back. Striaght ahead were the small outlines of the small Mandarin Island buildings.\par   
\tab "Jess," he said softly, "Look."\par   
\tab Jessie slowly lifted her head to see the buildings on the horizon. "Wow,"\par   
\tab "Here Pidgeot, come on down."\par   
\tab Pidgeot flapped it's wings gently and slowly lowered over the island. Then it took a sharp dive and landed on the beach, chuckling to itself. Everyone hopped off the bird and looked over the city. \par   
\tab "Here we are... where do we start?" James said, watching a boy play fetch with his Growlithe.\par   
\tab "The hospital, I suppose..."\par   
\tab James nodded, looking away from the boy. "Okay, the hospital would most likely be near the Pok\'e9Center, which is in the center of the city. Sooo... I say we head to the center of the island."\par   
\tab His teammates agreed. So it was to the center they went, and James predictions were right. The hospital was right next to the Pok\'e9Center. They stood at the entrance, anxious and nervous of confronting Father. \par   
\tab "You go in first James," Jessie said, looking through the doors from outside.\par   
\tab "Me?! He's your dad!"\par   
\tab "Yeah, but you're the brave one!"\par   
\tab "Really?"\par   
\tab "Uhhh...sure, you first,"\par   
\tab James puffed out his chest and strolled to the door.\par   
\tab "Hold it, Blue-boy," Meowth called,\par   
\tab "Will you stop calling me that?!"\par   
\tab "Yeah, sure, if you go in dere wit' your Team Rocket jacket on, dey'll call da police! Take your jacket off foist." \par   
\tab James nodded and threw his jacket at Meowth, Jessie did too, covering Meowth completely. \par   
\tab "Okay," a muffled Meowth replied, "I guess I'll stay here,"\par   
\tab James, remembering that he was supposed to be the brave one, nodded to Jessie and entered the hospital. Jessie walked in only steps behind. \par   
\tab He walked up to the counter. The secretary behind the desk looked up.\par   
\tab "Can I help you?"\par   
\tab James grabbed Jessie's arm and pulled her up next to him. "We're here to see Rick Lillis." \par   
\tab "Oh, Rick, he's in room 436, right down that hall."\par   
\tab "Thanks,"\par   
\tab He turned to the direction she was pointing and walked slowly, trying to let Jessie catch up.\par   
\tab "Why are you so nervous?" He asked as she caught up.\par   
\tab "You aren't?"\par   
\tab He shook his head. "I'm excited, yeah, but you're REALLY nervous!" He cringed, waiting for a whack on the head, but it never came. He sighed and looked up. "Here, 436. Ready?"\par   
\tab "Oh, yeah!"\par   
\tab James slowly turned the handle, half way, and then stopped. "You sure?"\par   
\tab "Yes! James-"\par   
\tab "Okay! Okay," He turned the handle and walked inside. Realizing Jessie was still frozen outside, and that trying to drag her in would be useless, he just stood quietly and waited. She saw her father sleeping on his hospital bed and clapped a hand over her mouth in excitement and sadness. She walked up next to James and whispered softly, "Dad?"\par   
\tab The man's eyes came open slowly. "Well, look at you two...it's been a long time, huh Jess?"\par   
\tab Jessie's eyes filled with tears as she nodded. \par   
\tab "Almost ten years," James said softly. \par   
\tab "That would make you two...eighteen."\par   
\tab They nodded. \par   
\tab "C'mere Jess," he said, patting the end of the bed. Jess did as she was told. "You too, James." James went to sit next to her. "How have you been?"\par   
\tab Jessie nodded. "Not too bad."\par   
\tab James nodded too, "Yeah,"\par   
\tab Silence.\par   
\tab "What do you guys do, like, for a job."\par   
\tab "Team Rocket," Jessie muttered.\par   
\tab "Team Rocket. That's good, you get good pay?"\par   
\tab "Not exactly," James replied.\par   
\tab "Are you on the baseball team, James?"\par   
\tab "No," he said dejectedly, "They didn't want me on the team."\par   
\tab Father frowned. "How'd you guys get out here? Are you on vacation?"\par   
\tab "Uh-huh,"\par   
\tab "And you came down here to find me?"\par   
\tab "Uh-huh,"\par   
\tab "Wow. What mission are you guys working on?"\par   
\tab Jessie groaned. "We've been trying to capture this kid's Pikachu for almost a year now. It's not a fun job."\par   
\tab James agreed. "Unless you enjoy being electrocuted, fried, and blown off into the sunset."\par   
\tab Father laughed. "How much vacation do you have left?"\par   
\tab "About a week." \par   
\tab "Good, once I get out of here we could go do something, okay?"\par   
\tab They nodded, "Yeah!"\par   
\tab James turned to Jessie, "Oh, what about Meowth?\par   
\tab Father laughed, "Your Pok\'e9mon? He can come too."\par   
\tab "Uhhh...he's not exactly ours, but he's sorta ours, I guess..."\par   
\tab A nurse came in. "Good news, Mr. Lillis, the x-rays show no broken bones, only a few cuts and bruises, so you can go home whenever you like." She didn't even seem to notice the other people in the room. She nodded, set down the tray of juice and medicine she was carrying, and walked out. Father gulped down the juice and pills and rolled off the bed.\par   
\tab "Come on, you guys,"\par   
\tab Jessie and James exchanged a glance, shrugged, and followed him out the door.\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab Meowth picked up a rock and tossed it into the fountain ahead. It splashed, getting several people wet. He chuckled.\par   
\tab "Hehehe, bingo."\par   
\tab The hospital doors swung open and his teammates and a red-haired man came out. Meowth tossed them their jackets and they put them back on. The man bent down to the Pok\'e9mon and scratched him behind his charm.\par   
\tab "So, this must be Meowth." Meowth purred and leaned against his hand. \par   
\tab "Where to, Dad?" Jessie asked.\par   
\tab Father continued to scratch Meowth and said, "How about the batting cages, for James sake?" James grinned. Meowth opened his eyes.\par   
\tab "Yeah, I heard someone-"\par   
\tab Father fell back. "You...you can talk?"\par   
\tab "Yeah, what'd ya expect me to do, bark? Anyway, I heard these boys talkin' about goin' to the battin' cages, so there must be one here."\par   
\tab Father nodded, still stunned by Meowth. He stood up and whispered to Jessie, "Have you showed this Meowth to the boss?"\par   
\tab Jessie laughed. "Dad, Meowth BELONGS to the boss."\par   
\tab "Oh. But, yeah, Meowth's right, the batting cages are right here on Mandarin."\par   
\tab "Let's go!" James said, running ahead. \par   
\tab Jessie looked up to her dad, and then back to James. "James! Wait up!"\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab \plain \i\f3 Crack! \plain \f3 James sent another one over the tall gray wall ahead. He threw his bat down and did a little victory dance.\par   
\tab "Yeah, yeah, it's my birthday! It's my birthday!" \par   
\tab Jessie covered her face with her hands. "I don't know you."\par   
\tab James picked up his bat and walked over to Jessie. "Yes you do. And I hit six out of ten balls. Two of which went out of this park." He raised the bat to point over the fence. \par   
\tab "Ha! Only two? I can do better than that! Give me that bat." James relunctantly handed her the bat and she strode into the cage. The first ball was shot out and she creamed it, sending into the street over the wall. She shot a grin at James before slamming the next one smashing into the wall. James just shook his head. \par   
\tab "Just one-" \plain \i\f3 Pow! \plain \f3 "more. That's three!" She chuckled and handed James the bat. \par   
\tab "Wha...how..." \par   
\tab Jessie turned around and leaned against the fence of the go-karts, watching Meowth laugh insanely as he passed everyone on the circuit. James came over to join her.\par   
\tab "Where'd your dad go?" He asked.\par   
\tab Jessie shrugged. "He said he had to go do something. Not sure what though."\par   
\tab "Hmm..."\par   
\tab "I'm glad we found him though, aren't you?"\par   
\tab "Yeah, he's a great guy."\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab A red-haired man could barely be seen in the darkness of Team Rocket Headquarters. He knelt before a dark platform. Two men looked down at him\par   
\tab "State your business."\par   
\tab "I need to speak with the boss,"\par   
\tab "Very well," A curtain was raised from the front of the room and a dark man was revealed, sitting in a large red chair, Persian curled up beside him.\par   
\tab "Lillis, what are you doing here? Do you have news to report?"\par   
\tab "Yes sir, they have arrived."\par   
\tab "Excellent. I want them exterminated."\par   
\tab "What?! But sir, I can't kill my own child-"\par   
\tab "You will do as I say!"\par   
\tab "Someone else, sir, get someone else to do it, Butch and Cassidy, or-"\par   
\tab "Enough! You will do it! No one will suspect you, you will carry through with this plan, or I will have YOU exterminated!"\par   
\tab "But...oh," The man turned around and reluctantly exited.\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab After once again getting beaten badly in a hit-a-thon with Jessie, Team Rocket decided to head home, realizing that Father wasn't coming back for a while. They left a note at his hotel saying that they were heading back to the cabin in Pallet. Jessie wasn't to thrilled with the idea but figured that he would be able to come see them if he wanted.\par   
\tab She sighed and looked out at the colorful setting sun on the horizon. James opened one eye to look at her.\par   
\tab "Jess, you okay?" He asked.\par   
\tab "Mmm. I'm fine, just wish we could've stayed with Dad a little longer."\par   
\tab "Yeah, me too, but we couldn't stay there forever! I'm sure he'll come to visit." He replied.\par   
\tab "Alright you two, home sweet home." Meowth said, hopping over the side of the Jeep. Jessie and James hopped out and followed. \par   
\tab Once inside, James set his Pokeballs on the table. He picked up Pidgeot's ball and looked to Jessie.\par   
\tab "What'll we do with this?" \par   
\tab Jessie shrugged. "Hold onto it for now, and if the brat attacks us looking for it, then we whine and give it back.\par   
\tab James nodded and set it among the other two. Jessie flopped down on her sleeping bag and looked up at James.\par   
\tab "Do you think he'll come back?"\tab \par   
\tab James laid down on his. "Yeah, I mean, it's not like he would play baseball with us and then just leave." He looked up at the ceiling. There was yet another crack in the old roof. Jessie noticed it too. \par   
\tab "Cat," she called, "fix the roof." \par   
\tab "Cat?! What's up wit' dat?" \par   
\tab James chuckled. "Patback for that 'Blue-boy' comment?" Meowth grumbled under his breath and stalked outside.\par   
\tab "Do you get the feeling there was something Father wasn't telling us?" Jessie asked, watching Meowth's paws through the roof.\par   
\tab "Yeah, and then he just left." \par   
\tab Meowth diliberately pushed pine needles through the crack. Jessie and James exchanged an angry glance.\par   
\tab "Do you think we should go get revenge?" Just then, there was a clap of thunder and the patter of rain on the roof. \par   
\tab "Nah, I think that was enough," James replied as Meowth came tramping in, soaking wet.\par   
\tab "I HATE WATA!" \par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab The rain had steadily increased and by eleven it had become an all-out storm. The thunder was so loud, none of the sleeping Rockets heard when someone came in.\par   
\tab A man entered silently and shook his head, shaking the rain that made his hair almost purple off. He slipped his shoes off as not to make too much noise and looked over at the sleeping figures: two humans, sleeping back to back, and a small Pokemon: a Meowth. \par   
\tab Jessie, being towards the door, noticed the intruder and slowly rolled over.\par   
\tab "Don't move," She whispered to James.\par   
\tab The man pulled something shiny, and quite sharp, out of his pocket and turned it over in his hands.\par   
\tab "When I tell you, roll to the side as fast as you can," Jessie continued. James nodded sleepily. \par   
\tab The man padded over to them. \par   
\tab "I'm so sorry," was all he said before lifting his hand up slowly and bringing it down in a sharp motion.\par   
\tab "Now!" Jessie said in a loud whisper. James rolled away and stood up. The knife was driven into James' blue sleeping bag. He grabbed the man in a headlock.\par   
\tab "What are you doing?" He said through clenched teeth. Jessie sat up on her knees to get a better look at the man, but it was hard to see anything but the glistening maroon hair in the dark. Meowth hopped out of his bed and flicked on the light.\par   
\tab Jessie gasped. "Dad?" James released his grip and stumbled backwards. Father immediately lept at the boy. James retaliated and hit Father, sending him to the floor.\par   
\tab Jessie wasn't sure who to side with. This was her father, but he was trying to kill James.\par   
\tab Father stood up, hand to his cheek. James breathed heavily, clenching his hand in a fist. \par   
\tab "Why are you here?"\par   
\tab "I've been... I-" \par   
\tab "Leave," \par   
\tab "I was sent here-" Father growled back.\par   
\tab "Leave!"\par   
\tab "Giovanni-"\par   
\tab "Giovanni? Ha! You can tell him I sent you."\par   
\tab Jessie stood up next to James. "James, you know what the boss will do-"\par   
\tab "No Jessie," Father said, eyes downcast to the floor. "James is right. This is your home. I should go..." He slunk to the door and everyone settled down their sleeping bags. In a flash of lightning, Father was back at James, slicing an inch off his hair and nicking his neck. James collapsed in shock and Father, realizing that he had actually hit James, retreated into the woods. Jessie and Meowth ran to James' side as he sat up, a scowl on his face.\par   
\tab "I have completely changed my perspective of that man,"\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab James set the plate of pancakes down on the table and sat down. He fiddled with his lock of shorter hair.\par   
\tab "It's not too noticable, is it?" \par   
\tab Meowth stiffled a laugh.\par   
\tab "Meowth! It looks fine James, stop worrying about it."\par   
\tab "Well? I wasn't laughin' at da hair, I was laughin' at da scar!" \par   
\tab Both humans shot a mean look at the Pokemon. "Meowth!"\par   
\tab "Anyway," Jessie said, "It's back to Pikachu hunting and we need a plan."\par   
\tab Meowth finished his pancake and looked up. "Oh! I got an idea! How about if we dig a hole, dress James up like a girl, and let Pikachu get away!" \par   
\tab Jessie propped her chin up on her hand. "Tried that."\par   
\tab Meowth frowned. "Looks like it's coming down to just battling."\tab \par   
\tab Everyone cringed at the thought of battling. \par   
\tab "Well, if that's what it takes..."\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab Ash and company strolled down the streets in their normally happy state. They were back in Pallet for a break from battling and badge-winning.\par   
\tab James sat back in his place in the bush. "I don't know, Jess, it's so simple, there's got to be some flaws." \par   
\tab "Just roll with it James," she replied, pulling Arbok's ball out of her pocket. "Ready?" \par   
\tab "Yep," \par   
\tab "Okay..." She tossed the ball into the walkway and stepped out after it. Arbok came out and hissed in Ash's face. He fell to the ground in surprise. Misty immediate reaction to seeing Team Rocket was:\par   
\tab "What happened to your neck?"\par   
\tab James fingered the scar. "Long story,"\par   
\tab Ash stood up. "A fight with Jessie?"\par   
\tab Jessie came forward. "No!" \par   
\tab "Then what happened?" \par   
\tab Jessie pointed to Arbok, "Doesn't matter, let's just battle,"\par   
\tab "Bulbasaur! Go!" Ash called doing his "I'm-the-best-trainer-in-the-world" stance. "Bulbasaur! Vine whip!" \par   
\tab Meowth crouched behind the tree, watching for the signal: reaching for the second Pokemon. There it was. Arbok fainted and James' pulled Weezing's ball off his belt. Meowth held the rubber bag a little tighter and silently stalked to the yellow rat, oblivious to the world around him. He pulled the bag over it and it cried out, but the bag was sound-proof and no one could hear it. Meowth gave a thumbs-up signal to his teammates and padded off to the balloon.\par   
\tab Weezing fell to the ground on cue and was sucked back to it's ball.\par   
\tab "Oh no," Jessie said, a little too over-sarcastically, "it looks like you've beat us."\par   
\tab "And it also looks like-"\par   
\tab "-Team Rocket's dashing off again!" They yelled, running off into the woods.\par   
\tab Meowth stood triumphantly on the edge of the balloon. Jessie and James hopped in and looked down at the rubber mass on the floor of the basket. Just then there were the frightened screams of Ash calling for his Pokemon. That's when Team Rocket realized, "This is for real. We have Pikachu!" \par   
\tab The small Pokemon stop struggling and lay still in it's red prison.\par   
\tab Jessie and James gave each a high five.\par   
\tab "Don't start celebratin' yet. Somethin' bad is bound to happen."\par   
\tab But even at 200 feet in the air, nothing popped the balloon, nothing flamed them, and nothing shot them off into the sunset. \par   
\tab "Can we start celebrating yet?" \par   
\tab Meowth looked over the edge of the ballon. "Yeah, I guess so,"\par   
\tab They gave each other a second high five.\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab "Boss, Jessie, James, and Meowth are here to see you,"\par   
\tab Giovanni gazed at them through the darkness.\par   
\tab "I pray you have good news for me,"\par   
\tab Jessie grinned. "Of course, sir! We have finally caught-" \par   
\tab Meowth stepped forward with the rubber bag.\par   
\tab "-The twerp's Pikachu!"\par   
\tab Meowth bowed and held Pikachu over his head, as if present a king with something royal.\par   
\tab Giovanni's eyes narrowed. "You have taken over a year to bring me \plain \i\f3 this\plain \f3 ? You are a disgrace to our team! I want out of my office! Now! You're both fired!" \par   
\tab Meowth perked up. "Both? What about me?" \par   
\tab "Meowth, it is not your fault these two can't succeed in anything. You may stay here, with Team Rocket." The cat looked up to his forlorn teammates. "Well?"\par   
\tab "Okay!"\par   
\tab Jessie and James looked at him in astonishment. \par   
\tab "I believe I told you to leave!" \par   
\tab The remaining two Rockets turned around sadly and went back into the woods. Jessie angrily kicked a rock. \par   
\tab "Off the team?!" \par   
\tab James shook his head. "What'll we do now? Where do we go?" \par   
\tab Jessie smiled, "No one's taking the cabin away."\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab A different Team Rocket member entered Giovanni's office upon being called. Meowth now sat on the boss's lap, purring contentedly. The red haired man stood before his boss. \par   
\tab "You called me sir?"\par   
\tab "Yes, I have fired your daughter and her partner. They won't have any protection without the Team." \par   
\tab The man looked puzzled. "Fired? What for?"\par   
\tab "Rick, what have they done for us?" \par   
\tab "Sir, I...I can't do it. Can I at least have accomplices? You know, now that they're not on the Team, they can easily go to the police, and they know I'm out to get them-"\par   
\tab Giovanni sighed. "I know, I know. I shall send accomplices out shortly. In the mean time find out where they are, where they're headed."\par   
\tab Rick nodded and followed the same path his daughter had just walked.\par   
\tab Meowth had been listening the whole time. \par   
\tab \plain \i\f3 So dat's why dey was attacked... should I help dem? Dey are my friends, and I just left dem...\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \plain \f3 \tab James tossed Victreebel's ball in the air and caught it repeatedly, lying on his back on the floor. He caught the ball and held it, turning his head to look at Jessie.\par   
\tab "Y'know what I just realized?"\par   
\tab "What?" \par   
\tab "Well, one, we still have the brat's Pikachu and Pidgeot, and, two, now that we're not in Team Rocket we'll have to get...office jobs."\par   
\tab Jessie looked away from the laptop (yes, Meowth's laptop). "One, might as well give 'em back, otherwise the twerp will have a hissy fit and kill us and, two, AHHHHHH!" \par   
\tab James went back to tossing his ball. "Exactly. Are you as bored as I am?" \par   
\tab Jessie nodded. \par   
\tab "What do you say we hunt down the twerps, surprise him 'cause we're in our uniforms, give him Pikachu back and then go buy a Playstation?" \par   
\tab Jessie snapped the laptop closed. "Sounds like a plan!"\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab Ash lay face down on his pillow, sobbing his life away, occasionally murmuring curses at Team Rocket.\par   
\tab Jessie pulled up, level to the window, James at her side.\par   
\tab "So, what'll we do? Just toss the balls at him?"\tab \par   
\tab Jessie whacked him over the head and he fell to the ground. "No! Like you said, we go in, scare him, give him Pikachu, and go to the nearest Wal-mart." \par   
\tab James stood up and replied, "Oh right, I remember."\par   
\tab "Okay..." She pulled herself into the room, James right behind.\par   
\tab Ash lifted his tear-streaked face off the pillow and looked up. "Do you think I want to see anyone from Team Rocket now?"\tab \par   
\tab "We aren't Team Rocket anymore..." James said, scuffing his foot on the floor.\par   
\tab Ash laughed hard. "Ha! I knew that day would come!"\par   
\tab Jessie growled and tossed two Pokeballs at the boy. "Here, they're of no use to us."\par   
\tab He looked down at the balls in his hand. "Two? What is this? What are you trying to pull?"\par   
\tab Jessie sighed. "Look, kid, just be grateful you got them back, okay? Honestly..."\par   
\tab "You mean...you're serious?" \par   
\tab "Yes, now, if you don't mind, we're off to buy a Playstation, 'kay?" \par   
\tab Ash just sat there, stunned, and watched them climb back out the window. And if they had stayed a bit longer they would have heard him say, "I knew they weren't all bad..."\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab "James! Let me win for once!"\par   
\tab "Sorry Jess!" \par   
\tab Jessie gripped her controller angrily and glared at the tv. She was Crash Bandicoot in Crash Bandicoot Racing. James had originally been Crash, but Jessie thought Crash was faster, so now they were both Crash, and James was still winning. Jessie sped ahead of him and laughed briefly, but hit a TNT box and went spinning, allowing James to pass her and the finish line.\par   
\tab Something gold glittered in the window and caught Jessie's eye. She watched to see it again, but it didn't come. She looked back to the tv and it came again. This time, she stood up and went to the window.\par   
\tab "Boo!" Meowth popped up in her face and sat on the windowsill. Jessie fell backwards and Meowth chuckled.\par   
\tab "Me- Meowth! What are you doing here?"\par   
\tab "Scarin' ya! No, but seriously, I gotta tell you something," He walked over to James and sat down next to him. Jessie sat on Meowth's other side.\par   
\tab "Okay, first off, I would just like to say I'm sorry I left youse guys, but I \plain \i\f3 am\plain \f3 livin' way better than you two ever would-"\par   
\tab "Out, cat,"\par   
\tab "No, no, no, okay, I hoid (heard) da boss talkin' to your dad. Dey was talkin' about youse and your dad was sayin' he didn't wanna do it."\par   
\tab "Do what?"\par   
\tab "I dunno, but I that it has somethin' to do wit' dat night we was attacked."\par   
\tab "Okay..."\par   
\tab "Just want ya to be warned. He said this time he's bringin' accomplices, so watch your butts."\par   
\tab They nodded silently.\par   
\tab "Alrighty then, I'm off to livin' in the lap of luxury, see ya!"\par   
\tab Jessie and James exchanged a nervous glance. \par   
\tab James shrugged, "Well \plain \i\f3 that\plain \f3 was a pleasant visit."\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab \plain \i\f3 Knock, knock, knock. \plain \f3 \par   
\tab "Oh no! It's your dad!" \par   
\tab Jessie sighed and answered the door. "It's only the pizza man." She took the three boxes he was holding and shut the door.\par   
\tab \plain \i\f3 Knock, knock, knock.\par   
\plain \f3 \tab "Oh no! It's your dad!" \par   
\tab "James!" She opened the door again to see the pizza man, hand extended, rubbing his fingers together. "Oh, right," Jessie pulled out twelve bucks and slapped it in the man's hand. James bounced over to her, took his box of pizza, and bounced back to the Playstation. \par   
\tab \plain \i\f3 Knock, knock, knock.\par   
\tab \plain \f3 "Oh no! It's your dad!" \par   
\tab "After I answer the door I am going to \plain \i\f3 pummel\plain \f3 you...oh, hi dad." James yelped and hid behind the chair, shaking.\par   
\tab "I told you!" \par   
\tab "What's up Dad?"\par   
\tab Father was frowning. "Look, I'm really sorry about the other night..."\par   
\tab "S'ok, Dad,"\par   
\tab "Yeah, so... I wanna do something for you guys," He looked to the blue-haired boy hiding behind the chair and smiled. "I won't hurt you, James, I promise. How's your neck?"\par   
\tab "Good," James squeaked, crouching even lower. Jessie growled and lifted him to his feet. He continued to shudder and gripped her shoulder.\par   
\tab Father chuckled. "That's good, so, come to the Flaming Charizard tonight for dinner," \par   
\tab Jessie dropped her shoulder, trying to shake James off, "Sounds great, we'll see you there," \par   
\tab Father nodded and left, grinning. James fell back to his pizza. \par   
\tab "I \plain \i\f3 really\plain \f3 don't like that man."\par   
\tab "James, he used to be your best friend! He gave you that glove!"\par   
\tab "He's changed!" \par   
\tab Jessie sighed and picked up her own pizza. "That doesn't change the fact that you \plain \i\f3 are\plain \f3 coming to dinner tonight."\par   
\tab "But Jessie-"\par   
\tab "James!"\par   
\tab "Okay, but if we get hurt, I can't say I didn't tell you so."\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab James straightened his tie and tried not to look nervous. Jessie gave him a look of "stop fidgeting" and he did his best. \par   
\tab Father pulled his fork out of his food and set it down to answer his pager. His expression didn't change the slightest bit as he looked up at Jessie and James. \par   
\tab "Giovanni. I'll be right back, y'understand." They nodded and Father stood up. \par   
\tab James shuddered. "Be calm, be calm, be calm..." \par   
\tab Jessie patted him on the shoulder. "Good boy," \par   
\tab People began to slowly file out of the restaurant slowly. Even the waiters and chefs went into the kitchens. \par   
\tab Two men dressed in black Team Rocket uniforms entered. \par   
\tab Jessie set her fork down.\par   
\tab "Hey! If it ain't Bonnie and Clyde! It's good to see some familiar faces."\tab \par   
\tab They nodded, but didn't look up at the former Rockets. Jessie looked puzzled and shrugged to James. Bonnie and Clyde were usually very friendly.\par   
\tab Suddenly, more Rockets came bursting in, guns armed, and each leveled at Jessie and James. \par   
\tab Father backed the crowd up. "Don't shoot," He said lowly. But amidst the chaos, a single shot rang out, and James fell the ground, clutching his stomach. Jessie gasped and fell to his side, looking angrily up at a dumbstruck Rocket who had let his gun fall to the ground with a loud clunk. But Jessie's anger turned to sadness as she looked back down at her partner, very drowsy from loss of blood. She tried to clot the wound with the restaurant's cloth napkin, but but it quickly soaked with blood.\par   
\tab James coughed and grabbed his stomach tightly as he lay down. Jessie shook her head.\par   
\tab "James, hold on, don't worry," She looked up to her Father standing behind the crowd with the same emotionless expression he had on minutes ago. "How- how could you do this? Why?"\par   
\tab Father turned around and walked away from the scene, Team Rocket following. \par   
\tab James eyes were shut, and he was breathing shallowly, but, even through the pain, he smiled. "Hey," he said weakly, "I hate to say it, but... I told you so,"\par   
\tab Jessie frowned at him and brushed the loose strand of hair out of his face. "Yep, yes you did." \par   
\tab The chefs and waiters had all left, probably in fear of being shot themselves. So no one was there to help the dying blue-haired boy. A small cat Pokemon slowly walked in upon hearing the gunshot (he had been waiting around the corner and looking at James, a wave of sorrow swept over him. He picked up James' bloody hand and stroked it. James tried to smile, but was so hurt he couldn't. Jessie picked up his other hand.\par   
\tab "You'll be okay," She pleaded, tears welling in her eyes, "You'll be okay." But James was slipping. "You can't...not after all we've been through..."\par   
\tab Meowth wiped his eyes with his free paw. "Come on, buddy, come on..." James hand fell limp, and his teammates knew he was gone, but no one was too sad. There was a sense in the air the something good was about to happen, something that allowed Jessie and Meowth to have a tiny sliver of hope.\par   
\tab There was a silence in the room as everyone waited, although they weren't quite sure what for. \par   
\tab James suddenly took a deep breath, coughed, and slowly sat up. Jessie flung her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. Meowth, also crying with happiness, hopped on his shoulder and ruffled his hair. James looked startled but smiled. He checked his stomach and found nothing, not even a scratch. On the floor next to him was a silver bullet, which he picked up and slipped in his pocket.\par   
\tab Meowth hopped down, amazed. "Wha- what happened?"\par   
\tab James shook his head. "I dunno. There was dark, then a really bright light, and- and somebody's voice. It said, that I was too young to die...and that I had so much to live for...and then I woke up..." \par   
\tab "Now I got something to set straight," Jessie said pulling him to his feet. "Oh and," she hugged him again. "I'm might of...started to miss ya." James hugged her back. Meowth grabbed his leg.\par   
\tab "Don't eva do dat again James!" James scratched him behind his charm.\par   
\tab "Don't worry, Meowth, I'm not planning on doing that again any time soon," He rubbed his stomach, "It hurt."\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \tab Jessie walked into the dark building, the wounded guards laying on the dirt outside. She stood before the boss, fuming.\par   
\tab "Where's my dad?" She demanded, hands clenched in fists at her sides.\par   
\tab "You are not permitted here-"\par   
\tab "WHERE IS HE?!" \par   
\tab "He is in his quarters, I believe you know where, but you-" He never got to finish his sentence, Jessie was gone out the door.\par   
\tab She quickly came to room 345-D and threw the door open. Father sat on his bed, looking over some files. He didn't even look up when his daughter came in. \par   
\tab After a while he said: "Look, I'm really sorry about James..."\par   
\tab Jessie sighed, annoyed. "Tell him that." \par   
\tab "Y-you mean, he's- I mean-"\par   
\tab "Alive, yes, physically hurt, no, mentally hurt, yes," \par   
\tab A pause. \par   
\tab "Why are you here?"\par   
\tab "I came to find out why. Why you did that. And why you didn't help."\par   
\tab Father set his papers down and looked up at Jessie. "Jess...I was ordered to. Giovanni would kill me if I didn't."\par   
\tab "You'd rather kill James?"\par   
\tab "Not just James, I was ordered to kill you, too, but I could bring myself to it,"\par   
\tab Jessie looked at the floor. "I can't believe you. He was part of the family... and after all he's been through..." \par   
\tab "Jessie..."\par   
\tab Jessie looked up at her father, tears glistening in her eyes. "It's a matter of trust, Dad. He trusted you...and you hurt him..."\par   
\tab "Jess..."\par   
\tab "You \plain \i\f3 promised\plain \f3 him..."\par   
\tab "Jessie, where's James? I can talk to him...the guy who shot him never meant to shoot..."\par   
\tab Jessie glared at him. "You think he wants to talk to \plain \i\f3 you\plain \f3 ? He was scared of you before...imagine how scared he is \plain \i\f3 now\plain \f3 .He can hardly talk about it with me. \plain \i\f3 Me\plain \f3 ! His best friend! You think he'll want to talk to \plain \i\f3 you\plain \f3 ! \plain \i\f3 You\plain \f3 , the man who slit his neck with a knife and shot him?!" She stood up and opened the door. "Just think about this, Dad," \par   
\tab Rick Lillis watched his daughter leave, and simply sat, and thought.\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard James lay face up on his sleeping bag, sleeping like a baby. \par   
Jessie quietly shut the door and sat down next to him. His eyes opened slightly.\par   
"How'd it go?" He asked. Jessie brushed the hair out of his face.\par   
"Mmm, not great. Coulda gone worse though, I guess."\par   
He nodded. "Sooo, what did you come to?"\par   
She shrugged. "Nothing, really. He said he wanted to talk to you, but I said you wouldn't want to."\par   
"You got that right!"\par   
\plain \i\f3 Knock, knock, knock.\par   
\plain \f3 James rolled over and put his face in his pillow. Jessie answered the door and the red-haired man know as Rick Lillis stepped in.\par   
"Listen you guys, I know you may now want to see me right now, but this is really important, \plain \i\f3 really\plain \f3 important." He looked over to James, cautiously peering over his pillow. He sighed and continued. "The boss is giving me till midnight tonight to finish my mission. And I...really don't want you guys dead, so here's the plan.\par   
"Gio's sending accomplices, like before, but before they get here, you're already going to be dead," James gulped. "Don't worry James. You're going to fake your death. There is no way Team Rocket is going to give you a proper funeral, so there's no need to worry about that." He looked over at the mini-fridge. "You do have ketchup, right?" They both nodded. "Good, I'll be back at 11:33, and \plain \i\f3 exactly\plain \f3 11:33, \plain \i\f3 be awake\plain \f3 ." With that said, he was gone out the door.\par   
Jessie patted James' leg. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"\par   
"You're kidding, right?"\par   
\pard \qc ***\par   
\pard \par   
Jessie shook James' shoulder and he nodded in a sense of "I'm awake, I'm awake". Jessie stood up and pulled the ketchup out of the mini-fridge, still not fully understanding why this was needed. But James did.\par   
"Toss me that thing," She did, and he opened it up, pouring the ketchup directly onto his hands. He tossed it back and spread the ketchup on the sides of his face. Glancing over to the clock, he could see his reflection and smiled, satisfied. It was 11:33. Why wasn't Father here yet? Spoke to soon. Father burst in, panic striken.\par   
"You've got the idea, James, Jessie you do that too, hurry though, they came earlier than I expected, there you go, more than that, good, shhh! Here there come! Go over there!" Confused Jessie and James did as they were told. Seconds later, the same Rockets as at the Flaming Charizard burst in, guns raised, but Father casually strode over to them, hand raised. \par   
"You're a little too late boys," He snickered, "it's already taken care of." He gestured to the corner. "I'll take it from here." \par   
The Rockets, a little dumbfounded with the fact that one man could kill the notorious Jessie and James, nodded and stalked out the cabin door in the manner they came. \par   
Jessie and James sighed with relief and sat up. James shook his head, sending ketchup everywhere. \par   
"That was almost worse than actually getting killed."\par   
"You're kidding, right?"\par   
"Actually...yes, but that was pretty scary."\par   
Jessie looked to her dad. "Sooo, now what?"\par   
"Well, you'll have to stay kinda quiet for a while, because if anyone finds out that you're actually alive, I won't be for long." They nodded. "Okay, then. I'll be off." He started for the door. \par   
\tab "Wait, dad," Jessie stood up and gave her dad a big hug, James close behind. "We love you." Father patted their backs and walked out the door.\par   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\par   
\par   
~End Part 1\par   
\par   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\par   
\tab Author's Note: Thank GOD that's done. I've never written a longer fic! I don't think that I've READ a longer fic! Oh wait...yes I have... In any case...did you love it? Hate it? Want to kill me for nearly having James killed? Please don't hurt me!!! Email me at Team_Rocket5@excite.com.\par   
\par   
\par   
\par   
}


End file.
